U.K. geek shows you how to build automatic doors like the ones on the Starship Enterprise. Space saver, anyone?

We’re big fans of deep (usable) space. So we have to share this “Star Trek” pocket door that combines our two loves — exploiting under-used space and recreating our favorite features of the Starship Enterprise, “Star Trek’s” interstellar home.

Alex Shakespeare, a U.K. “technologist at heart,” replaced his kitchen door with an automatic pneumatic door that he cobbled together from a silent compressor, a microcontroller board (available at such retailers as Maker Shed), sensors, a magnetometer, and loads of wires and pneumatic connectors. As he approaches, the door whooshes open and slides along the wall — pocket-door style.

How cool is that?

The project is perfect for the home owner-DIY geek who wants to make the most of the existing — and unexplored — space.

What do you think of this “Star Trek” door? Could you see yourself building one?

is an award-winning, Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer who contributes to real estate and home improvement sites. In her spare time (yeah, right!), she gardens, manages three dogs, and plots to get her 21-year-old out of her basement.